Travel Tuesday: Memories in the Drift

 Welcome back to Travel Tuesday! 

Today's destination is the remote town of Whittier, Alaska, where everyone lives in one building, and crossing paths with a hungry bear while walking around town is a serious possibility. Yet, neighbors watch out for each other. You can walk through a tunnel to school. And the views are unforgettable. Even for Claire, a resident with anterograde amnesia, a severe form of short-term memory loss.

Claire remembers the headaches, the mad dash to the hospital with her father, and everything about her life before blacking out on that terrifying drive. Her mind longs to teach again, and her heart aches for the baby lost to the same incident. She's built a routine revolving around laminated to-do lists, phone reminders, and an ever-present notebook and pen with which she tries to record everything, her paper memory. A futile attempt at a semi-normal life.  With the help of loyal friends who age a decade each time she looks at them, Clair tries to imagine a future, but all she can remember is the past. How can she heal when reliving her losses punctuates each day, again and again? How can she forgive when her heart still hurts?

Memories in the Drifts by author Melissa Payne first appealed to me because it's set in Alaska. I grew up in Fairbanks, and even though I've lived away longer than in, I still miss it nearly every day. Whenever I see a book set in Alaska, I am equal parts excited and trepidatious. Many authors have gotten it very, very wrong. When I began reading and saw the name Whittier, a real and decidedly unique town, I really got nervous. Though not having visited personally, I have read enough about it to know that conveying the distinctive flavor of life there would present challenges. Much to my absolute delight, Melissa Payne not only wrote the nuances of life we Alaskans barely even notice, but she captured the heart and essence of this remarkable town. With a subtle hand, she draws you in, and without realizing it, you aren't reading anymore, you're living there.

This feat is doubly noteworthy given that she tells the story from Claire's first-person point of view, exactly as she experiences her days and moments. Considering she often can't even remember what she's doing as she's doing it, the narrative flow proceeds seamlessly. Far from boring, the repetition helps the anxiety and frustration flowing through Claire become the reader's world as well,  I quickly found myself not only rooting for her through her struggles, but deeply empathetic to her situation. I am genuinely impressed, I've never read from this kind of POV for a character for more than a brief interlude in a novel before. Payne nailed it for an entire 270 pages, and I loved it! 

More importantly, she shines a light on a condition typically portrayed in a comic or stereotypical manner, as in most movies. Almost always third-person observers, we're never really inside the head and emotions of the one living it. In Claire's world, though, anterograde amnesia becomes glaringly real, and the realization that it can happen to anyone in the blink of an eye is sobering.

I experienced such a turnaround with this book! From initial curiosity, to instant incredulity that it could be done well, to utterly immersed and gesticulating wildly when describing it to my mom over the phone! Literally, my only criticism would be that there were some fairly predictable plot developments. I didn't even mind though, this novel was moving, immersive, and made me homesick in a good way. 

Superbly edited, with very minimal profanity, and while it makes reference to a past sexual encounter, there is no sexually explicit content. This book is an easy recommendation. From young teens to well-seasoned readers, any fiction lover can curl up with this title and disappear for an entire afternoon. I highly recommend a hot drink, a cozy blanket, and a warm fur buddy to complement your reading experience.

AWBB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. PT - Preteen and above.